handmaid's tale part 3

the book was the story of june.

the tv version, the stories of women.

in my last blog, i had not watched the final episode.
it changed the story.

margaret atwood addressed the beginning of the evangelical power grab of the reagan years with her book. the book looks back from a future time as a historical primary resource of the past.

it is a warning.

atwood's tv show addresses the present of a theocracy run by men in the name of god. 

this medium addresses the resistance.

in gilead, the new rule is welcomed by women believers just as the religious right is peopled with large numbers of women supporters.


but what serena and enid find is that their religious fervor has been co-opted by a male desire for power and domination.




what they find is what started as a movement to aid women and children became a society that cares little about women, a society based on ownership of women.... very much in the manner of the old testament.

when there eyes are opened, they find they must make a choice. 

resistance is only successful when oppressed groups work together. the most successful strategy of those in power is to pit those beneath them against one another, to inspire competition for meager resources.

in south carolina, this was best demonstrated by ben tillman's leadership in the progressive movement. he not only excluded black farmers, but played to the fear and prejudice of poor white farmers in consolidating his political power.

his progressivism was just a desire for his own power.

the women in gilead are separated into well defined categories that spurn interaction.

the women are kept deliberately separate, fearful, and silent.

only when that barrier of distrust is broken can the resistance begin.

gilead only benefits one group... the commanders.
they make the rules.
they break the rules.

those who have seen the last episode know.... serena can only break the rules when it benefits the commander.... challenging him, a man she thought she shared her ideals with, brings devastating consequences.

in the last episode, serena learns that the man she loved is gone.


the disturbing hints give way to full blown betrayal.






the book and tv show merge in the inspiration for resistance.

in the book, it is a pillow, an individual protest, a cherished part of june that is still alive. on tv, it is a bible.

it is the ability to read. it is the literacy that is so empowering.

reading is communication - with god, with others, with ideas.

it is both spiritual and concrete.

when people share their stories, they find themselves in others. we can only separate into "us" and "them" when communication is absent.

only when we understand that we are all "us" can we begin to make a better world.

men are not excluded.

together is without boundaries.

a resistance to oppression requires the repentance of the oppressor.






art is essential.

art tells our stories.

art is resistance.